Refulgence
by selflessandbrave
Summary: After the war, Tris and Tobias are faced with new fears and challenges. How will they overcome these obstacles, especially now that they have a child?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone, this is the sequel to my story Emergence! I would highly recommend you read that one before you read this one. Don't worry, this story will still be here when you get back :)**

 **Refulgence: A radiant or resplendent quality or state; brilliance.**

 **(Tris)**

My baby is laughing. I can hear it from thirty yards away, through a window and a screen of bushes, and it's a beautiful sound on a mid October morning in Niagara Falls. I step out of our cottage and find him pointing at a butterfly.

"See, mama," he vocalizes.

"Yes baby, I see," I smile. Annie gives chase to the butterfly, and Daxton collapses into giggles again.

I pick him up and walk towards the edge of the lake. With winter's approach, it will freeze over again, but for now the water is warm and welcoming as it laps at my toes and the sun shines down.

I hear the cottage door open and turn to see Tobias striding towards us.

"You two ready?" He asks. Daxton reaches for his father, and Tobias takes him.

"Yup," I say, and look around. "Until next time, beautiful haven."

Tobias smiles, placing a hand on my back, and we walk to our car, beginning our commute back to Chicago.

...

Just before we enter the city, it starts pouring rain, pounding on the roof of our car like the end of the world is at hand. Daxton is asleep, thankfully. He's terrified of storms.

It seems silly, but a part of me didn't realize before he was born that he would be his own person, with likes and dislikes and a personality. But he loves dogs and avocados and listening to music in the car, his small body moving with impressive enthusiasm within the confines of his car seat. At a year old, he's started walking and stringing words together, and it is both liberating and terrifying to see my child navigating this world with some measure of independence. He looks like Tobias. I love him more than anything.

"Hello Mr. Eaton. Mrs. Eaton. Baby Eaton," one of the Dauntless guards smiles as we drive through the gates.

"Hi. How are things?" I smile back.

"Better every day."

It's true. Things in general keep getting better and better for the city. Most recently, the Factionless are all moving into real homes. I glance at Tobias and smile again. He doesn't admit it, but so much of this is because of him and the work he's done. I know it's hard for him to leave his family to go to such a demanding, consuming job. "It's like I have two kids," he always says. "Dax and the city." We both know it's worth it.

...

 **(Christina)**

I step out of the elevator and nearly collide with Tris in the lobby.

"Hey, you're home!" I exclaim, hugging her.

I see Dax grinning from Tobias's arms and say, "Give me that baby." I spin him around and kiss his cheek before handing him back. "I'll see you guys in a little while, I'm a caffeine dependent life form," I dance away from them and enter the lobby café.

I order my coffee and see Uriah walk in. My throat constricts. I can never quite pin down what it is he makes me feel. Fear? Longing? A mix of both, I decide, and smile as he approaches me.

"Hey you," he says, rubbing my arm. He looks at the barista. "I'll have an iced coffee."

"Hey," I reply.

"What are you doing today?"

"Not much," I swallow. His hand hasn't left my arm, and fear is pounding in my chest. Along with the longing. It's all very confusing.

"How are you feeling?" He asks. "Did you talk to Miss..." he trails off when he sees my face.

I've been seeing a therapist, mostly because I've finally come to terms with the deaths of both Will and Matthew, and I need to work through my feelings because I, in fact, am a living human being, as much as I would like to convince myself that nothing hurts me. Even still, I don't like to talk about therapy or admit to others that I need help.

"Don't do that," I order quietly. "It's not fair."

"I'm not," he says, shaking his head, recovering. "I'm not."

"Uriah, just-"

"You look really good, Christina."

Just like that, he's back to himself, and this whole thing is so surreal I almost smile. "Shut up," I say, trying to mean it.

"What? You do." As if he's got some sixth sense for nearly breaking me, Uriah grins. "I'll see you later," he says then, and if I didn't know better, I'd think it was a promise.

...

 **(Tris)**

Tobias comes down with the flu the next day, and I take Dax out with me so we can pick up medicine. In the parking lot, we run into Amar.

"Tris!" He exclaims. "Where's Tobias?" He looks urgent.

"Sick."

"What?! He can't be sick! Not now! No!" Amar is near tears.

"Hey, relax! What's going on?"

"I have to talk to Tobias," he heaves. "Keep that baby safe."

"Excuse me?" I state. He starts walking toward the building. "Amar, if you take one more step in that direction I will break your legs. Tell me what's going on. Tobias isn't going anywhere."

"Tris, a new leader has been selected for the Erudite. He wants to test all children for divergence."

My throat feels like it's in a fist. I hold Daxton tighter.

"Why?"

"I don't know, you see, which is why I need to talk to-"

"No. I'll talk to him. Just give me until tonight."

He frowns. "Alright. I'll be by at 9 o clock."

I get into my car and drive towards my parents' home, furious.

 **...**

 **A/N: Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Tris)**

"Did you know they want to test all the kids for divergence?"

I'm livid when I storm into my parents' house uninvited, banging into the kitchen. I drove here in panicky circles in the biblical downpour. Outside, the trees bend in supplication.

 _"What?"_ My mother snaps to attention, dropping the knife she was using to cut carrots and accidentally cutting her thumb. She jerks her thumb to her mouth.

"What the hell is going on?" I demand.

"Watch it," she says, glancing at Daxton, and I look at him guiltily. He repeats just about everything we say, and I know it's just a matter of time before he's in preschool and asking the teacher why today's snack is so shitty.

I press my lips to his temple and mumble, "Sorry."

"Did you skip work?" My mother asks, and I'm about to tell her exactly where my job falls on my list of priorities at this particular moment when Caleb lets himself in through the back door, my father close behind him.

"Ladies," Caleb walks in, holding Callie in his arms and glancing at me briefly. He heads straight for the fridge and frowns at the contents as if they're extremely interesting.

I ignore him as if I hadn't even heard. "Did you know Erudite is trying to test all the kids for divergence?" I demand, bouncing Daxton on my hip and trying not to sound hysterical.

"No," he says immediately, but suddenly he won't look at me. "Do you want some orange juice, baby?" he asks Callie.

"Caleb Prior, I am going to ask you again-"

"What?" He sounds pissed at me now. "I didn't _know_ , exactly-"

"Caleb!"

"Beatrice." My father steps between us like we're ten and eleven and not nineteen and twenty, like I'm about to pull some bratty little sister move that involves a shin-kick or a punch to the back of the head. Like I'm not standing here holding a child of my own.

"Enough." He says, and I turn on him. My father has been supervising the council since he came out of his coma, practically. He regulates every faction. There is no way in the breathing world that if someone from Erudite so much as said the word "divergent," my father didn't hear about it.

"What about you?" I demand, trying to keep my voice steady. Daxton squirms unhappily in my arms. "You must have known."

My father nods. "Yes," he says, and looks at me evenly. One thing he never does is lie.

"And you didn't tell me?" He doesn't reply for a minute, like he's thinking. Dark spots are flecked across his shirt from the rain.

"No," he says when he's ready. "I didn't."

None of this is new information, but it still hits like something with physical force.

"Why not?" I ask, and it comes out a lot sadder than I mean it to.

"Beatrice-"

"Mom, PLEASE."

"I didn't tell you," he says slowly, "because I was hoping I could get it dismissed."

Well.

All three of them are staring at me, waiting. My mother has a hand pressed to her heart. Caleb still stands at the fridge, all bulk and muscle, Callie on his shoulder, watchful.

"See you for breakfast on Saturday," I say finally, and start home to put Dax to sleep and break the news to Tobias.

...

 **(Christina)**

Zeke and Shauna are throwing a party tonight. They want to get pregnant soon, they said, and Shauna wants to get shamelessly wasted one last time. Tobias is sick, so he and Tris aren't coming. I, however, am prepared to get drunk right alongside Shauna.

I'm gravitating towards the vodka, loud music blaring, when something stops me. A man who looks just like Matthew. I can't breathe then, and try to tell myself that it's my imagination. I've already had three drinks, of course it's my imagination. I killed him myself, of course it's my imagination.

I stumble to the backyard and towards the swing set in the dark. It's my imagination, it's my imagination, it's my imagination.

I collapse onto a swing. Why can't I ever get away? Even in death, he won't let me escape. I hear other girls talk about being independent, sober, focused, then they trail off mid sentence into alcohol, hookups, good times. It's the game I can't play. They do what they want without breakdowns. They slip in and out of this world, avoiding the holes, whereas I am hooked. Every single time.

"What are you doing?" Uriah walks through the damp grass, hands in his pockets.

I grope around for plausible deniability, and finding none, I settle for the truth. "Hiding."

He sits in the swing beside me. "From anything in particular?"

From Matthew's ghost, actually, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I can tell him without sounding crazy. "That," I say instead, stalling, "is a very good question."

"Well you suck at hiding, because I found you in like, one second."

I laugh hollowly.

"Christina," he says, and I look at him. "Don't let this fear keep you from living. You're worth more than that."

"Fear? Of what?" I gesture around. "People having a good time? I'm not scared, Uriah."

"True Dauntless," he rolls his eyes a little, then softens. "You know you can let people help you."

"I got a therapist like you wanted me to."

"That's not what I mean. You have all these friends that are here to support you. You don't have to do it all on your own."

I look at him and breathe.

"Uriah!" Zeke calls. "Christina!"

We stand at the same time, still watching each other carefully.

"Thank you," I say, then walk away.

...

 **(Tris)**

 _"What?"_ Tobias demands. Usually when he's frustrated or nervous, he runs his hands through his hair, or rubs the back of his neck - habits that I have memorized. It's what makes girls fall in love with him in the middle of supermarkets and when we go to restaurants. Now though, he's still as winter, like the blood has dried up in his veins, his eyes glued to our son.

"Amar is coming over at 9 so we can talk about our options."

"Our _options?_ There is no option! It's not happening! They're not touching him!"

"Of course they're not. We're talking about options of how we're going to stop them. The council would have to vote, right?"

"Yeah," now he's running his hands through his hair, and it makes me feel a little less unsettled.

I press the back of my hand to his cheek. His fever still hasn't broken. I sit next to him and he puts his warm head on my shoulder. I kiss his forehead and run my hand over his arm.

"It'll be fine," I murmur.

Dax toddles over to us. He's a hugely beautiful kid, dark hair and round eyes, even taking into account the fact that I grew him inside my body and may therefore be a little biased. Strangers stop and say he's beautiful all the time. He looks nothing like me, except for the pointed nose we share.

"It'll be fine," Tobias smiles and repeats to him, but I can feel his heart pounding.

 **...**

 **A/N: Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**(Tobias)**

We and Amar concluded that we have to let the new Erudite leader speak his piece before we can stop it from happening. Ultimately, as far as we know, this is just a rumor, until he speaks to us officially.

As soon as my fever breaks, I'm back at work.

"Tobias," Amar enters my office warily. "We have a problem."

"That's nothing new," I reply, throwing a pen down loudly. "What is it?"

"The representatives of every other faction have asked for a recess."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"They want everyone to take two weeks off of work to think about what the Erudite are going to say today, and then come back and vote."

"No."

"I agree with you. Unfortunately, everyone else thinks it's a splendid idea. So we lose out."

"Are you kidding me? They want a-"

When he hears my voice growing, he interrupts. "Look at the bright side, Tobias. Two weeks with Tris and the baby!"

"Don't bring them into this. Everything I do is for them. We need to take this Erudite out as quickly as possible," I say coldly.

Amar sighs. "Patience," is all he says before walking out.

...

I go in search of this Erudite representative. I find him by the coffee machine, surrounded by assistants who are straightening his tie and asking if he needs anything.

"Excuse me," I say.

"Four!" He exclaims and claps my shoulder like we're old friends, like we do this all the time. "I'm Vance Evanston, the new representative of Erudite."

"Interesting," I say dully. "Do you want to tell me what the hell you think you're doing?"

"I'm getting a cup of coffee."

"A cup of coffee," I smile. "You better hope it's not the last cup of fucking coffee you ever-"

"Four!" I turn and see Tris.

"Hello Tris!" Vance calls.

"Fuck off," I spit at him and approach Tris.

"I'll see you in a few hours, Four!" He calls. "Nice chat!"

"Walk with me," Tris smiles and gestures down the hall. We walk.

"You can't threaten him, you know," she says.

"I didn't," I mutter.

"We can take care of this without getting physical."

"You think?"

"I _hope_."

"And what if that doesn't work?"

"Then we'll see. But we won't know if you're in jail on assault charges."

I stop and lean against the wall. I press my hands to my eyes hard and colors explode like fireworks, like something detonating inside my head.

She guides my hands back down. "Hey," she says. "It's alright. We've dealt with worse. We can deal with Vance."

I look at her, and she looks so beautiful and calm that it stirs deep affection inside of me, a feeling that is odd paired with the anger I feel toward Vance. The affection wins out in the end, and I smile at her. "We're getting two weeks off," I tell her.

"I know," she smiles. "Shauna thinks we should all go on a road trip together." We start walking again, holding hands now.

"Did you tell her no?"

"No, because I was hoping I could convince you."

My eyebrows shoot up. "Wait, you want to go?"

She shrugs a little, and I stop her again, and spin her around to face me. "You don't ever have to worry about 'convincing' me of things you want," I say. She smiles.

"So," I say as we continue walking. "What's the destination of this road trip?"

...

Two hours later, Vance stands up in front of me and everybody else and begins his speech.

"Council," he says, "I know my proposition seems a bit... alarming." He glances at me. "But once you hear what I have to say, I think you'll agree that testing the children for divergence will be very beneficial."

"Bullshit," Zeke says.

Vance frowns. "That is an appropriate initial response. Hear me out, Mr. Pedrad. Now," he addresses the entire council, "one of the main focuses at present is our education system. We know that the minds of the divergent and the minds of typical children work very differently. In order to give them the best education possible, we need to know which child needs what. We can not put them all together and hope for the best, because they learn differently. They think differently. The benefit of the individual child is what I'm concerned about. You may think I'm following in Jeanine's steps, but you are quite mistaken. I care deeply for the wellbeing of our children, which is why I propose an entrance exam to determine the best method of schooling for them."

There is a murmur from the council. Vance takes a seat and Amar steps up.

"Council," he says. "Think about what Mr. Evanston has said. When we come back together in two weeks there will be an opportunity for supporting and opposing arguments. We are now on recess."

...

 **(Tris)**

We're all getting irritated as we try to load the car. Tobias pushes the bags down and Uriah bounces on the suitcases, trying to make them fit.

"We're never going to leave, are we?" Cara asks, shifting Callie to her other arm. The toddler grins, happy baby that she is. Daxton clings to my pointer finger, balancing on his feet.

I toss one of the bags on top of another.

"Be careful!" Christina exclaims.

I step away, turning my attention to Cara.

"I wouldn't say 'never.' Maybe a few more hours."

"Why are you guys putting the cooler back here?" Shauna asks. "We need it in the front so we can have snacks on the road."

We all freeze and look at the cooler, which is taking up a lot of room. Zeke and Uriah launch into an argument over whose fault it is while Tobias and Caleb move it.

"I think we're ready," Tobias says.

I nod. "What's the seating arrangement?"

Zeke and Uriah glance at each other before making a mad dash for the driver's seat.

"I'm older!"

"You don't have a license!"

"Neither do you!"

"I have mine," I input.

"You're not driving!" They both exclaim.

"I have mine too," Tobias says.

"So do I," Caleb adds.

"I'm driving!" Uriah exclaims, and Tobias sets a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," he says. "Neither of you are driving without a license."

They mumble something incoherent and Tobias takes the driver's seat. I get into the passenger seat after situating Daxton in the row behind us.

"Why do Cara and Caleb get the back seats?!" Zeke exclaims.

"Because we have a child," Cara snaps.

"It's still not fair."

Tobias starts the car and slips his hand into mine.

"Yes, it is," Caleb says.

Tobias runs his thumb over my wrist bone as they carry on. And the road trip begins.

 **...**

A/N: Please review :)


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